This recipe may seem quite long, but believe me it is fairly easy to put together … and the pay off is that it feeds 8 adults, or it can do two meals if there is just 4 of you.  It can be made a day ahead (so perfect to prepare Sunday for dinner Monday), and it is as delicious cold (true!) as it is hot.

My dad inspired this recipe … strange how food memories come to you at the weirdest times!  But my dad used to make THE BEST meat lasagne, and the white sauce he used to make is one similar to the sauce I have made here using cream cheese.  I never got the recipe from dad, but I do remember watching him make it.  And it popped into my mind the other day and hasn’t left me … so I knew that dad was encouraging me from afar to make this, so it had to be done!

Whilst I do love a good meat lasagne, I truly love the combination of mushrooms, spinach and ricotta so I decided to go with that.  I wanted something substantial that would be great for a big family meal, and a dish that could be served cold as well as hot (that is a another legacy of my dad’s … his lasagne was fantastic served cold cut into small squares as an appetiser with drinks … believe me it works … as long as you have the right lasagne in the first place).

The spinach and ricotta filling, along with the white sauce, is made in the Thermomix … the mushroom filling is pan-fried to get the right “meaty” finish, and the whole thing is put together in a baking dish and finished in the oven.

There is plenty of white sauce, but I prefer to have more than I need rather than less … so I will sometimes have about 1/2 cup leftover after spreading a good amount on top of the lasagne which I will keep in the fridge and use for other things … it’s fantastic as a pizza topping, or spread on toast and grilled, or used in mashed veggies (like pumpkin or potato).  Use the whole lot if you like, but I only mention this in case you feel you have used enough and are not sure what to do with the remains.

Mushroom, Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne

 

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Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 45 mins

 

The spinach and ricotta filling, along with the white sauce, is made in the Thermomix ... the mushroom filling is pan-fried to get the right "meaty" finish, and the whole thing is put together in a baking dish and finished in the oven.

There is plenty of white sauce, but I prefer to have more than I need rather than less ... so I will sometimes have about ½ cup leftover after spreading a good amount on top of the lasagne which I will keep in the fridge and use for other things ... it's fantastic as a pizza topping, or spread on toast and grilled, or used in mashed veggies (like pumpkin or potato). Use the whole lot if you like, but I only mention this in case you feel you have used enough and are not sure what to do with the remains.

Author: Gina @ The Passionate Pantry

Serves: 8 serves

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS FOR RICOTTA AND SPINACH FILLING

• 100g parmesan cheese, cubed
• Rind of 1 lemon (save juice for later)
• 300g baby spinach leaves
• 1kg firm ricotta (needs to be firm type)
• 250g buttermilk
• 2 x 60g eggs (+ another for sauce)
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  
  

INGREDIENTS FOR WHITE SAUCE

• 80g butter, room temperature, cubed
• 80g spelt flour, or plain flour
• 600g milk of choice (I use full cream)
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes
• Freshly cracked pepper
• 250g cream cheese (break into chunks with your fingers as you add to sauce)
• 1 x 60g egg
  
  

INGREDIENTS FOR MUSHROOM FILLING

• 1 tbls ghee or coconut oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large leek, trimmed, cut in half and sliced
• 600g Swiss mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes
• 1 tbls soy sauce
• 1 tbls lemon juice
  
  

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

• Butter to grease large baking dish (30cm x 20cm)
• 500g fresh lasagna sheets
• Extra grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle over topping

Instructions

MAKE RICOTTA AND SPINACH FILLING FIRST:

1. Place parmesan cheese and lemon rind into TM bowl and mill 10 seconds / speed 9
2. Put aside, do not clean bowl
3. Place 100g spinach in the TM bowl and shred 4 seconds / speed 5
4. Place into a large bowl and continue this process two more times until all the spinach is shredded, do not clean bowl
5. Return parmesan and lemon rind to TM bowl along with ricotta, buttermilk, eggs, salt and nutmeg and blend 10 seconds / speed 6, scrape around bowl, and repeat blending 10 seconds / speed 6
6. Add ricotta mix to shredded spinach in large bowl and stir together well
7. Put aside, do not clean TM bowl
8. Make white sauce
   
   

MAKE WHITE SAUCE SECOND:

1. Grease lasagna dish well with butter before making sauce
2. Place a one cup measure into the lasagna dish ready for when the sauce is made
3. Place butter into TM bowl and cook 3 minutes / 100 / speed 1
4. Add flour either side of the blades and cook 5 minutes / 100 / speed 1
5. Add milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook 12 minutes / 90 / speed 4
6. Add cream cheese and cook 2 minutes / 90 / speed 4
7. Pour sauce into the cup measure sitting in the lasagna dish
8. Return TM bowl to carousel, add egg to the remaining sauce and blend 10 seconds / speed 4
9. Set sauce (with added egg) aside in a separate bowl until ready to assemble lasagna
10. Spread the cup of sauce over the base of the lasagna dish ensuring you get to all the corners of the dish, put aside until ready to assemble lasagne
11. Make mushroom filling
    
    

MAKE MUSHROOM FILLING THIRD:

1. Before you start preheat oven to 180 degrees fan forced
2. Heat oil to medium/high in a large frying pan (I use my wok)
3. Add garlic and leek and cook 1 minute
4. Add mushrooms, soy sauce and lemon juice and cook stirring often until moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms are browned (this can take up to 12 to 15 minutes, but it is important that the moisture has evaporated so check in the middle of the pan to ensure there are no pools of liquid)
5. Remove pan from heat and start to put lasagna together
   
   

PUTTING IT TOGETHER:

1. On top of the cheese sauce in the lasagna dish, place a single layer of lasagna sheets trimming to fit if necessary
2. Top with ⅓ of the ricotta/spinach mix
3. Top with ⅓ mushroom mix
4. Top with a single layer of lasagna
5. Repeat these last three steps (1/3 ricotta mix / ⅓ mushroom mix / lasagne sheets) two more times finishing with a layer of lasagna
6. Pour white sauce on top of the lasagna covering the whole top to each corner
7. Sprinkle over extra parmesan cheese
8. Place baking dish onto large baking tray and place in oven
9. Bake for 30 minutes, turn dish around and continue for another 15 minutes or until nice and golden
10. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before cutting and serving

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